According to Gary Dekmezian, professional blogger, the first
blogs were really glorified online journals, and in all likelihood, becoming a
professional blogger and making money online wasn't the goal. Since then, the
blogosphere has evolved, and now people blog for many different reasons.

Express yourself and share your passions

Make a difference

Share your knowledge

Refine your writing skills

Learn how to make money online

Build your professional network

Earn more exposure

Become an authority in your industry

Build an online portfolio

Market your business

For four weeks from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on
March 3, 10, 17 and 24, Leah Stetson who is a professional writer, blogger,
editor, poet and environmental journalist will be teaching, “The Art of
Blogging” at the library. Leah holds a master’s degree from College of the
Atlantic and has worked as a writer for 15 years.

Her
publications include over a dozen technical articles on wetland science and
policy, a humor/parody creative nonfiction piece in Geek Monthly, a
top-rated nature blog with over 50,000 words of creative nonfiction published
online. Her WordPress blog, “Strange Wetlands,” was mentioned on Maine Public
Radio in 2013, and her blog, “Adventures of Fen Fatale” is a member of the
Northeast Bloggers Network.

In
this particular series of workshops, participants will learn the art of
blogging in this workshop. Each participant will choose a theme or main topic.
Genres encouraged: Creative nonfiction, including science and nature writing,
first-person narrative/memoir, travel narrative, first-person narrative advice,
for example, personal finance, health and well-being, homeownership, or a DIY
projects themed blog. The blogs created in this workshop will contain written
content in addition to images. Bring a writing utensil, notebook and laptop
computer. Participants should possess intermediate computer skills.

Jordan-Small Middle School sixth-grader Lily Oldershaw is
The Windham Eagle student of the week. The 12-year-old loves English/language
arts and wants to be an author when she grows up.

She lives with her mom, dad and brother Lucas. She has two
cats, Pepper and Night.

“Lily Oldershaw wants to be a writer. She has a knack for
understanding character, developing setting, and using language to express the
most wonderful ideas- and what an amazing
sense of humor she has. Whether it’s science, math, social studies, or another
subject, Lily stands out. Perhaps this is because she is such a global thinker,
looking at all sides, asking the right questions, and formulating unique,
informed opinions. The kind of person who can sit at any lunch table, Lily not
only strives to do well herself but also to help her peers achieve their best,”
said the student of the week committee at JSMS.

Education is important “because it helps you get a good
job,” Lily said. When she’s not in school she enjoys skiing, playing softball,
soccer or reading.

AUGUSTA — Last Friday, a bill to fight
voter intimidation by imposing reasonable limits on people video recording at
polling places won the unanimous support of the 11 members present in the
Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham,
said the bill is a victory not only for voters, but for municipal election
wardens who will now have clear direction about what activity is and is not
allowed at the polling place.

“This proactive approach gives our
election wardens the authority to prevent activity that many voters feel is
nothing more than intimidation,” said Sen. Diamond, who for eight years was
Secretary of State and oversaw elections in Maine. “Polling places exist to
facilitate the most core function of our democracy: The vote. We must be
equipped to handle disruptions and keep our polls free from intimidation.”

The bill, which has the support of
current Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, will not outlaw video recording at
the polls. Instead, it establishes a 15-foot “minimum distance” between video
recorders and the people they would record.

On Election Day last year, voters raised
concerns when political activists pointed their cameras at voters as they
signed citizen initiative petitions. Those activists focused on people signing
two petitions, one that would raise minimum wage and another to expand
background checks for gun purchases. There were reports made to the Secretary
of State that some of the activists were blocking voters paths, pointing
cameras in their faces, and demanding they say their names for the camera.

Without any rules regarding video
recording at the polls, election wardens felt unable to address the situation.

The bill —LD
1574, “An Act To Protect Maine Voters from
Intimidating Videotaping at the Polls” — will now head to the Senate with a
bipartisan “ought to pass” report from the Veterans and Legal Affairs
Committee.

The Windham PTA announced the winners
for the Reflections Arts Program this past week. There were approximately 100
entries according to the PTA.

“It was so wonderful to see all the hard
work and dedication put into these pieces of art. Great job to you all,”
said PTA member Terri Marin.

There will be a recognition night at
Manchester School on Thursday, March 24, at an invitation only event.
Participants receive certificates and winners receive awards and ribbons,
according to Chelsea Sperry.

The first place winners will have their
work submitted to Augusta and the state Reflections competition.

AUGUSTA — A bill to protect Mainers from
potentially intimidating behavior at the polling place received support Monday
from the Maine’s Secretary of State and from the organization representing
municipal election wardens during a public hearing at the Veterans and Legal
Affairs Committee.

“This law is about ensuring that polling
places can serve their most crucial function, which is to facilitate our
democratic process,” said the bill’s sponsor Bill Diamond, a Democratic state
senator from Windham who oversaw state elections for eight years as Secretary
of State.

“Those who want to video record at the
polling place should be free to do so, as long as they don’t interfere with
voters’ activities or needlessly intimidate them,” Sen. Diamond said. “This
bill would set reasonable rules about what is and isn’t allowed.”

Last year, video recorders raised
concerns when political activists pointed their cameras at voters as they
signed citizen initiative petitions. Those activists focused on people signing
two petitions, one that would raise minimum wage and another to expand
background checks for gun purchases.

Without any rules regarding video
recording at the polls, election wardens were unable to address the situation.
Sen. Diamond’s bill —LD
1574, “An Act To Protect Maine Voters from
Intimidating Videotaping at the Polls” — would establish a 15-foot “minimum
distance” between video recorders at the polls and the activity they were
recording.

Julie Flynn, Deputy Secretary of State,
testified in favor of the bill. She described instances of video recorders
behaving aggressively, including getting in voters faces and demanding they
identify themselves. She called the bill a “reasonable regulation” to protect
voters from intimidation.

“As long as the videotaping does not
interfere with or intimidate people trying to vote or sign a petition, it can
be accommodated at the voting place,” she said. “We believe the 15-foot
distance provision addresses the issue of interference and intimidation.”

The bill also earned the support of the
Maine Municipal Association, which represents election wardens, and wrote in
its testimony that “the polling place should be entirely free of activities
that cause voters to be embarrassed, feel uncomfortable or otherwise cause
voter distress.”

No one spoke in opposition to the bill.
The bill faces further action at the committee level in an upcoming work
session.

By
Michelle Libby - The Windham Middle School student council under the direction
of Shelly Cook hosted a Kindness week this past week to correspond with
National Random Acts of Kindness Week. Each day teachers were asked to help
engage the students in something that would remind them of kindness.

“There’s
a need for kindness everywhere,” said Cook. “It’s important for kids to see
kindness being modeled by staff, then they’ll extend the kindness further.”

The
teachers were given a survival kit with objects to give out each day. On Monday
the students were asked to think of something they could do to help show
kindness. Suggestions were send a positive message to someone, hold the door
open for someone, offer to help clear a lunch table or thank your parents.
These were activities that anyone could be successful at.

“We
want students to recognize what it looks like, sounds like and feels like to be
kind, so it becomes part of our culture, part of our school and our community
of learners,” Cook said. All week students were reading and writing about
kindness in their classrooms. Teachers were excited to have a whole week to
focus their lessons on kindness.

On
Tuesday, the students were given a pencil to remind them to “Think about the
words they write, before they are permanent.”

Wednesday
students were given an eraser to remind them that “Everyone makes mistakes,
it’s okay. You can erase away any unkindness and start each new day with a
fresh, clean slate.” Wednesday was also custodial treat day, where everyone
acknowledged the custodians at the school

Thursday
teachers gave out gum to remind students to “stick to being kind.” Office staff
and education technicians were celebrated as well.

On
Friday, students were given a kindness sticker and anyone wearing their sticker
could earn free prized during the day. Teachers were celebrated on Friday. They
were given a special t-shirt that said “Proud to be a WMS teacher, keep calm
and teach at Windham MS.”

“Let
somebody impatient cut in front of you in the lunch line,” Cook suggested. “I’m
hoping that students will pick up on this and extend it into the future.”

Cook
is hoping that this will become a yearly event that the students will want to
continue next year and every day.

What
kindness means to Windham Middle School students:

"Be
the change you want to see in the world" —Gandhi

"Be
kind out of respect not because it’s 'Kindness Week'" —Austin grade 7

"People
should be kind to each other no matter what”—Tonygrade 7

“Kindness
week means a favor, kind of like giving, a little thing that can makes
someone’s day feel special” Desiree and Kiara grade 7

"Be
kind to everyone” Emma grade 7

“If
someone drops something, pick it up”—Jack

"When
someone does nice things like carry your stuff” Sean

"Lots
of people take things for granted without saying thank you. I want people to
notice and say thank you.” Arianna grade 7

"Kindness
week is a good thing because it reminds people what it means to be nice.”
Kristen grade 7

"Being
kind to someone that may not be having a great day so they can feel better.”
Dakota grade 7

"A
small act of kindness can make a big difference.” Autumn grade 7

“The
little things make a big difference.” Madeline grade 7

“Be
kind to everyone you know and meet; that will bring you success.” Brennan
McGloin 8th grade

“Being
kind to people.” Kelsey

“To
accept peoples differences and know that we are all different.” Denali

“To
show people that being kind makes people feel better and if someone’s nice to
you it makes you feel better.” Chris

“To
do something kind or nice for someone else.” Kaila

“Being
kind to others makes a difference in the world.” Roya

“To
show that the school cares about kindness.” Lydia

“To
be kind to everyone.” Becca

“Being
nicer to people you don’t know” Alyssa

“While
being kind you create a chain reaction of kindness.” Julia

“Kindness
week is so people can feel good about themselves.” Rylee

“People
like feeling good about themselves and being nice to others so they can feel
good about themselves too.” Mikayla

“To
show respect to everyone.” Matt

“Kindness
week is to help others feel good about themselves.” Roscoe

“To
be able to share kindness with other people even if they aren’t kind back. Maybe
they’ll change their minds and become kinder.” Rylee

“Sharing
and caring.” Cam

“To
teach us to be kind.” Carissa

“Kindness
week is about helping others” JP

“Kindness
is good” Ryan

“It
makes people happy to be kind.” Bria

“Kindness
makes a difference in other’s lives and brings people up.” Olivia

“Being
kind is kind because it makes people happy.” Eli

“Being
kind: If you make somebody happy then they’ll probably try to make somebody
else happy too. It just keeps on going.” Dalton

“Everyone
wants to be treated kindly.” Dylan

“Treat
people the way you want to be treated.”

“Kind
is good.” James

“Show
that we care about people.” Mollie

“Kindness
week makes me a better person.” Travis

“We
do kindness week so people can respect us.” Nick

“Be
kind to be kind” Dana

“Kindness
week is about saying hi to someone or being nice to someone to make their day.”
Gabe

“It
brings me joy to have someone else have a smile on their face.” Jack

“Never
look down on anybody unless you are helping them up.” Jesse Jackson